The Flight of Red Bird
The Bird's Nest
Zitkala- Sa, who is most known for her advocacy work and writing in regards to American- Indian cultural assimilation, also brought Native American stories and culture to a wider audience through her story- telling. Many sources online regard her as a spokeswoman for Indian culture, but focus very seldom on what it was in her culture that led her to assume her position as a figurehead of it. Where we most learn about Zitkala- Sa is not through biography texts online, but through her own writings. Some of the most telling information about Sioux Native Americans, specifically those in Zitkala- Sa’s tribe, can be found in her literary works upon close analysis. Although a woman of mixed- race, as a child, Zitkala- Sa identified heavily with her Indian heritage. American Indian Stories, a collection of short stories in which Sa recounts her experience from childhood to adulthood in assimilating to American culture, especially gives us an idea of the kind of life she lived prior to coming into contact with the “paleface” world. Through reading the various sections of Stories, we can gather this information about Zitkala- Sa, her Native American Culture, and how she relates to it.
The Sioux believed strongly in oral story telling and mysticism. The fables and legends that were passed on from generation to generation at various tribe gathering served as warnings or lessons in morality to children Zitkala- Sa’s age. As a young girl, she would often beg her mother to ask the elders of her village to tell tales of spirits, warriors and days past. This interest in story- telling on Zitkala- Sa’s part made her a favorite amongst the elders, who were looking to impart their wisdom onto others. Zitkala- Sa’s talent as a writer, as well as an advocate and activist for Native American rights, can in part be attributed to her love for the oral tradition of her tribe. As easily as the elders were able to capture her attention and captivate her mind with narrations of magic and the mystical, Sa weaves her readers a story filled with not only the fantasy of her culture, but of the beliefs that made her the influential writer that we are now coming to see her as. Zitkala- Sa shedding light on her upbringing through her writing, in turn, helps to shed light upon literary works by lesser- known American women writers like her.
Through these stories, Zitkala- Sa’s reverence towards the politesse of her tribe is also revealed. Within Sa’s village, many families lived in wigwams within close proximity to each other, creating a communal and familial bond amongst unrelated strangers. The elders that told the stories that Zitkala- Sa so loved were considered to be parents and grandparents to all in the tribe, and were habitually invited to share evening meals by all in the village. They referred to everyone younger than them as “my son/ my daughter”, even if they were not kin. The ancestry of the tribe was very much respected, and social customs were centered around this loyalty towards the aged. One popular sign of respect towards elders was to offer them coffee made fresh over a fire upon visiting the home of a “son” or “daughter”. As a young girl, Zitkala- Sa tried with much effort to emulate this tradition in the absence of her mother as depicted in American Indian Stories: The Coffee Making:
"Where is your mother, my little grandchild?" were his first words.
"My mother is soon coming back from my aunt's tepee," I replied.
"Then I shall wait awhile for her return," he said, crossing his feet and seating himself upon a mat.
At once I began to play the part of a generous hostess. I turned to my mother's coffeepot.
Lifting the lid, I found nothing but coffee grounds in the bottom. I set the pot on a heap of cold ashes in the centre, and filled it half full of warm Missouri River water. During this performance I felt conscious of being watched. Then breaking off a small piece of our unleavened bread, I placed it in a bowl. Turning soon to the coffeepot, which would never have boiled on a dead fire had I waited forever, I poured out a cup of worse than muddy warm water. Carrying the bowl in one hand and cup in the other, I handed the light luncheon to the old warrior. I offered them to him with the air of bestowing generous hospitality.
"How! how!" he said, and placed the dishes on the ground in front of his crossed feet. He nibbled at the bread and sipped from the cup. I sat back against a pole watching him. I was proud to have succeeded so well in serving refreshments to a guest all by myself. Before the old warrior had finished eating, my mother entered. Immediately she wondered where I had found coffee, for she knew I had never made any, and that she had left the coffeepot empty. Answering the question in my mother's eyes, the warrior remarked, "My granddaughter made coffee on a heap of dead ashes, and served me the moment I came."
They both laughed, and mother said, "Wait a little longer, and I shall build a fire." She meant to make some real coffee. But neither she nor the warrior, whom the law of our custom had compelled to partake of my insipid hospitality, said anything to embarrass me. They treated my best judgment, poor as it was, with the utmost respect. It was not till long years afterward that I learned how ridiculous a thing I had done”(Sa, American Indian Stories).
As a young girl, yet untouched by the influences of modernized, westernized American culture, Sa tried her best to follow the traditions and customs of her tribe. They had a very set way of life, dictated by the seasons & the crops, the setting and rising sun- a connection to the earth was the simplicity, and yet the complexity, on which their tribe was founded. Native American culture has the stigma of being bound to the earth, but for this particular Sioux tribe, such a thing was true. As an adult returning to her mother’s dwelling in American Indian Stories: A Trip Westward, Zitkala- Sa notes “The rains had soaked the earth and roof so that the smell of damp clay was but the natural breath of such a dwelling”(Sa, American Indian Stories). The earth was not just something that allowed life through its natural resources, but something that had life, that was a life to protected and preserved. People either walked or rode horses- nobody had ever seen a train before, nor did anyone know of the technologies of the white man, unless they became an Indian child brought to American school, as would be Zitkala- Sa’s fate.
Even the style and aesthetic of the Sioux was an indication of their harmony with the earth and their spirituality. In American Indian Stories: The School Days of an Indian Girl, Zitkala- Sa describes a childhood filled with running around in moccasins and hand- made clothing, naturally died and sewn with care and skill by the members of her tribe. Even she, as she grew and began her decent into womanhood, was met with the task of learning to do beadwork. This beadwork was time- consuming, taking Zitkala- Sa many months of sitting in her wigwam under the supervision of her mother to perfect, and consisted in geometric patterns and scenes from nature.
The same patterns could also be found in tattoos that members of her tribe had all over their bodies. Stars, crosses and other shapes and figures were described to be on the faces of warriors and elderly women of her tribe- from childhood on, Zitkala- Sa felt very skeptical of people with tattoos. She looked upon the faces of others and saw marks, yet when she examined her own mother’s face, she was nothing. These tattoos were symbols of magic power, and from then on, Zitkala- Sa was skeptical of tattoos, and wondered what terrible magic powers were hidden underneath the ink. Long, natural flowing hair to match their “natural” clothing, the Sioux were a people filled with pride in their style. Long hair was a symbol of strength and fortitude. “Short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards”, wrote Sa in The Cutting of My Long Hair. Only unskilled warriors who were captured in battle had their hair shingled by their enemies, or short hair was a symbol of mourning over loss of a loved one. Short hair did not reflect the intricate, intense style of the Sioux, and represented a departure from tradition.
Zitkala- Sa departed from tradition in her own way, even before undergoing assimilation to American Culture. Her name, which translates to “Red Bird”, actually stems from the Lacoda dialect, which is different from that of Sa’s tribe(more information regarding the history of Zitkala- Sa’s name can be found throughout this web page). Such a deviation could be considered a type of rebellion within a tribe, and as we learn throughout American Indian Stories, Zitkala- Sa becomes no stranger to rebellion. Going to American School was viewed as negative and a way to lose touch with one’s culture. The “pale faces” were seen as conquistadors who invaded their territory and sought to destroy the Native American lifestyle. This is the mentality that Zitkala- Sa grew up with. In American Indian Stories: An Indian Teacher Among Indians, her mother tells her
“It is this same paleface who offers in one palm the holy papers, and with the other gives a holy baptism of firewater. He is the hypocrite who reads with one eye, 'Thou shalt not kill,' and with the other gloats upon the sufferings of the Indian race." Then suddenly discovering a new fire in the bluffs, she exclaimed, "Well, well, my daughter, there is the light of another white rascal(Sa, American Indian Stories)!"
These “white rascals” worshipped a God unlike their Great Spirit, an absolute power that breathes its life into the material world. Despite knowing these vast differences and the opinions of her tribe in the matters of American schooling, Zitkala- Sa convinced her mother to allow her to leave the comfort and familiarity of their home, as her elder brother Dawée had done, and learn at American school.
Going to the “wonderland”, as Sa describes it in American Indian Stories: The Big Red Apples, proved to be a struggle and painful change for Zitkala- Sa. The journey away from home was filled with tears, fear and regret- she had made the choice to leave, and she could not turn back, nor could she express that she wanted to to the white men who did not speak her dialect. It was then that she realized that the “wonderland” would disrupt and dismember all that she knew. She went from a community clad in moccasins and long hair, to structured shoes and collared shirts. Instead of waking up and sleeping in accordance to the sun and moon, days were dictated by the school bell. This was difficult for Zitkala- Sa, who as a child was so accustomed to the ways of her tribe- she was too resolute and full of pride to submit to this unexpected change without a fight. In American Indian Stories: The Cutting of My Long Hair, she thrashes about and runs throughout the schoolhouse in efforts to avoid becoming one of the mourning or weak warriors of her tribe with short locks. This clash of cultural expectations happens not only with the esthetic of Zitkala- Sa, but also with her religious beliefs and domestic life. When she traveled home to recruit more Indian children for American schooling, or to visit her mother, she felt uneasy and out of pace, the melonge of cultures too much to bear all at once.
However, it was this strong tie to her Sioux Native American culture that enabled her to not only undergo and bear the assimilation to American culture, but also emerge from it as a strong spokeswoman for all Native Americans. As much as she had curiosity in regards to white American culture, she had a great fear of losing her Sioux self in the process. In a way, she did- after removing herself from the comforts of her people for the sake of education, she struggled to re- integrate herself with her culture on visits home. However, this struggle helped to enrich and enlighten her life, and the lives of others in the stories that it inspired.
Works/ Art Cited:
Burlin, Natalie Curtis. The Indians' Book: An Offering by the American Indians of Indian Lore, Musical and Narrative, to Form a Record of the
Songs and Legends of Their Race. New York: Bonanza :, 1987. 38-40. Print.
G, Paul. "Like What You See?" PowWowscom Native American Pow Wows RSS. Pow Wow Network, 19 July 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.powwows.com/2012/07/19/ebay-find-of-the-week-antique-sioux-beaded-vest/>.
"Lakota Sioux Indian Art." Lakota Sioux Indian Art. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
Sa, Zitkala. "The Project Gutenberg EBook of American Indian Stories, by Zitkala-Sa." Gutenberg.org. Project Gutenberg, 3 Dec. 2003.
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